Thanks to the internet (and bathroom tissue technology) catalogs aren’t as popular as they were back in the phone-book sized Sears Roebuck days. But they still have their place (even in the bathroom, although they get treated a bit better now thanks to Mr. Whipple’s favorite product). Some of us even look forward to a few of these things, while other catalogs leave us collectively wondering why they waste the paper.

The best catalogs are nothing less than marketing & commercial art, while others are so bad, they might be a liability to the retailer’s goal of selling you something. But which is which to you?

It’s pretty unfair* to compare a weekly circular with a once a month or season catalog, so know that you can pick three favorites below. Those that lack votes, well, we all see where that’s going. But getting to pick three gives each, no matter how often they’re delivered, a decent shake to get some votes. Mailers that are two, maybe three pages and just there to carry coupons were left off (still like those though). Write-ins & analysis are welcome in the comments.

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Comment Rules: Write only what you’d say to a person’s face. Keep it civil and when you disagree, propose an alternative. Thank you for adding to the conversation.

zach_p

Head’s up – I got an error that said I could only select one when I tried to pick three.

MrJBolt

I also experienced the same error.

Marshall Lilly

It’s telling me I can only pick one.

David X L

You can asterisk all you want, Joe, but Victoria’s still the queen of THIS man’s coffee table.

Nam

That made the choice easier, J Crew it is…

BorrowedSuits

I caught just a glimpse – the corner of his oilskin duster whipping clear of the heel of a hand-tooled boot, crown of a crushed felt hat above the crowd. It was crowded and cold on the platform in Dushanbe and I had just alighted from the north-bound train, glad to be headed away from the danger, away from the frozen dust and uncertain silences of the frontier. He, however, was headed south, battered travel case at his back, plastered with lading bills and customs stamps, scars of a thousand road trips lending a rich character to the leather.

“Peterman?” I thought, incredulous. “I thought he was gone for good.” Not yet, perhaps. “But soon,” I thought, as the southbound local rattled off into the snow, lost behind a blast of steam and a cloud of coal-smoke. Soon.

As a former employee of Patagonia an other outdoor retail companies (not trying to sound pompous, just giving my credibility), I’m not sure I would include such catalogues as it relates to this style blog. Though Patagonia and similar catalogues are full of amazing photography and even better writing, the clothes (as functional as they are) are often of poor fit and have little to no resemblance to classic men’s style.

I voted for Nordstrom but would have voted for Club Monaco. One thing they have in common is infrequency.

Phil Davis

Does anyone actually receive ALL of these catalogs? Also I haven’t actually heard of all the companies above, am I the only one? I guess I’m not sure this poll is going to be all that accurate or representative. It’d be nice to see sample spreads or something as a basis of comparison.

BenR

Of the above, the only catalog I actually receive is L.L. Bean/LLB Signature. Though, my usual billing address is different from my residence… I suspect my parents get a lot of junk mail intended for me. Sorry, Mom and Dad….

BenR

I agree with you generally, but the Patagonia jacket I own (Torrentshell) is a lot more fitted and “stylish” than comparable products from more pedestrian brands like The North Face or Columbia.

http://www.facebook.com/tj.pearce.71 Tj Pearce

Totally dude, another I’d recommend from Patagonia is the Better Sweater Pullover. Nice textured Pullover that really hits that “Outdoorsy but Dressy” look perfectly. I throw it on with a button down, Levi’s and my Clark boots, and feel unstoppable.

Geoff

Well, you could recycle them instead of throwing them away. And considering there are over 500M people employed by the USPS, not to mention the millions that indirectly support it in the private sector, perhaps you can just enjoy that we have medium of advertising that helps support so many Americans with work in a time when jobs are less than plentiful.

I receive (and like) the catalogues from Gant, and from English companies Charles Tyrwhitt & TM Lewin.

For extraordinarily beautiful Christmas catalogues, I have never seen anything better than from the French Department Stores Printemps and Galleries Lafayette – we picked up copies in Paris two weeks ago, and have brought them home to do coffee-table service!

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